The College of Massachusetts Lowell has simply joined sister colleges UMass Boston and UMass Amherst as a chosen R1 faculty, the highest classification for analysis exercise.
The Carnegie Basis, the governing physique of the classification system, introduced UMass Lowell’s improve to “Research 1: Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production” from its prior rating of “Research 2: High Research Spending and Doctorate Production.”
“Research 1 status reflects UMass Lowell’s unwavering commitment to research excellence and innovation, a milestone achieved through the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students,” faculty Chancellor Julie Chen mentioned within the announcement.
The varsity now joins UMass Boston and UMass Amherst within the five-member College of Massachusetts system in what the varsity calls the “prestigious designation used to identify the nation’s top research institutions.” Solely 7% of four-year universities have the excellence, with the Carnegie Classification of Establishments of Larger Schooling itemizing 187 within the class out of three,939 whole colleges.
Rounding out the member colleges, UMass Dartmouth and UMass Chan Medical Faculty are each designated as R2, based on the Carnegie Classification of Establishments of Larger Schooling.
UMass Lowell has a 16,770 scholar inhabitants based on the latest knowledge on the federal authorities’s Nationwide Heart for Schooling Statistics’ School Navigator. Of these, 12, 128 are undergraduates. The varsity has a student-to-faculty ratio of 17 to 1.
To succeed in R1, a college should spend at the least $50 million on analysis and growth and award a minimal of 70 analysis doctorates on common per yr. The varsity says it blew previous these minimums with analysis expenditures of greater than $120 million throughout 13 analysis facilities and 150 doctorate levels awarded.
“This recognition underscores the significant research advancements happening at UMass Lowell and our commitment to creating new knowledge, driving innovation and inspiring discoveries that serve not only our areas of interest but our community and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Chancellor Chen mentioned.
The varsity says that along with its analysis into sustainability and power, robotics, life science and house expertise, it’s partnering with the town of Lowell on the Lowell Innovation Community Hall, which it calls “a public-private development set to transform the city’s economic future.”
“The R1 classification is a tremendous boost for our plans for LINC, which will be a vibrant live-work-learn-play district that is a nexus of research activity in eastern Massachusetts,” mentioned Anne Maglia, UMass Lowell vice chancellor for analysis, innovation and financial growth.
